A. Field of the Invention
The device of the present invention relates generally to a new and improved high voltage cable termination and, more particularly, to a new and improved high voltage cable termination connector assembly for use with many sizes of the high voltage power cables.
B. Description of the Prior Art
Many high voltage power cables have been and are being manufactured with segmented or nonsegmented center conductors formed from aluminum wire strands rather than copper wire strands due to the availability of aluminum wire and its usually lower cost. The use of aluminum wire strands does, however, have its disadvantages. One major disadvantage is the rather rapid formation of aluminum oxide coatings on the outer surfaces of the aluminum wire strands and of associated aluminum connecting devices. Such coatings retard the flow of electrical current across an interface formed by the aluminum wire strands and a connecting device. In addition, aluminum wire strands experience relatively rapid metal fatigue due to hot and cold expansion and contraction cycles caused by changes in the ambient temperature and the operating temperature of the electrical system.
Many different types of connectors are used in the prior art to electrically connect the center conductor of a terminated high voltage power cable to an external electrical connector. U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,821 ('821 patent) illustrates one type of a prior art high voltage cable termination connector that has been used for smaller power cable sizes. The device illustrated in the '821 patent is not rapidly adaptable for use with power cables of widely varying sizes and wire gauges. Thus, different cable termination connectors of the type illustrated in the '821 patent must be available for use with substantially different sized power cables.
Another problem associated with the use of the above and other prior art cable termination connectors is the rather close tolerances that must be maintained in terminating the end of the power cable. If the center conductor of the power cable is cut too short or too long, a large amount of rework, resulting in a great loss of time and money, may be necessary in order to achieve an effective cable termination.
Several prior art cable termination connectors utilize a lower aluminum barrel connected by the application of compressive force or otherwise to the center conductor of a terminated power cable and an upper copper stud bonded to the lower aluminum barrel for making an external electrical connection to the center conductor. Often, the upper copper stud is accidentally separated from the lower aluminum barrel requiring the entire connection to the center conductor to be reworked, often a complicated, expensive and time consuming job.